She was poor but she was happy...

Doesn't everyone remember Samuel Johnson's "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money"? Not, apparently, Lionel Shriver. In the June issue of Standpoint, the bestselling author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, declares that she has "now no motivation to take on lucrative work that will only make me more miserable". The cause of this misery? HM Revenue. "I'm hardly asking for pity here," says Ms Shriver, "but I was happier earning next to nothing. My life was bureaucratically uncluttered, my tax returns were simple and I did not live in fear. I value my larger readership, but were I to return to the meagre income of yesteryear, I might honestly be more contented." Perhaps she should get in touch with her publishers. In these difficult times, I'm sure they'll be delighted to oblige.